In the wake of the election, some people trying to make sense of this reality have been holding out for one voice: Jon Stewart’s. Well, Stewart has spoken, joining CBS This Morning’s Charlie Rose for a post-election debrief, and his thoughts are sure to be controversial. For one, while there is an argument that racism was the driving force behind Trump’s election, Stewart disagrees. Far from seeing every Trump voter as racist, Stewart calls the idea a liberal “hypocrisy.†He explained:
I thought Donald Trump disqualified himself at numerous points. But there is now this idea that anyone who voted for him is — has to be defined by the worst of his rhetoric … Like, there are guys in my neighborhood that I love, that I respect, that I think have incredible qualities who are not afraid of Mexicans, and not afraid of Muslims, and not afraid of blacks. They’re afraid of their insurance premiums. In the liberal community, you hate this idea of creating people as a monolith. Don’t look as Muslims as a monolith. They are the individuals and it would be ignorance. But everybody who voted for Trump is a monolith, is a racist. That hypocrisy is also real in our country.
Stewart also has some strong predictions for Republicans, as he sees Trump’s win in part as a response to Republican obstructionism in the Obama era. Saying that “Donald Trump is a reaction not just to Democrats,†Stewart called the president-elect a “repudiation of Republicans,†but admitted, “They will reap the benefit of his victory, in all of their cynicism … I will guarantee you Republicans are going to come to Jesus now about the power of government.†Ultimately, while Stewart expressed “surprise†at Trump’s win, he is not experiencing the disorientation of some: “The same country with all its grace and flaws, and volatility, and insecurity, and strength, and resilience exists today as existed two weeks ago … I feel badly for the people for whom this election will mean more uncertainly and insecurity. But I also feel like this fight has never been easy.†See a clip of Stewart’s interview below, and read the rest of his remarks here.